


Tangled Re-Written- In Which Cassandra Climbs the Tower

by Ashybae



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010), Tangled: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: Cass has big lesbian energy, Eugene appears sometimes but not all that much and is Flynn Rider, Everyone has daddy issues, F/F, Flynn is probably off in the Snuggly Duckling and finds the hidden passage on his own, I don't ship Cassunzel that much but it's cute and makes sense, I guess Lance could appear too, In which Cassandra ends up finding Rapunzel in the tower instead of Eugene, Probably will add these as I go along, Rapunzel hides dead bodies in her closet, Rapunzel sucks at recognizing people, Spoilers for the movie and series, Varian shows up at some point too, Vigor and Madame Canardist scene are also here too, frying pans are the best weapon, mother gothel is an awful mother we do not stan, they're not actually dead don't worry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:53:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23480512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashybae/pseuds/Ashybae
Summary: Cassandra's father never allowed her to be part of the guard. She's been training ever since she was six years old, but nothing she ever did seemed to be enough. Until finally one day, she happens to find the wanted thief Flynn Rider trying to steal the crown. She manages to snatch the crown from him, but he disappears before she can reach him-- leaving her with a mysterious tower to climb.Rapunzel's mother never let her go outside. It was much too dangerous out there, she said. But what happens when she knocks a woman who climbed her tower and stuffs her in her closet?------I have no idea how to do descriptions. If you haven't read the title, this is basically Tangled but with Cassandra instead of Eugene. They do different things, and Varian shows up eventually. Just assume that during all this Eugene went to the Snuggly Duckling and found the secret passage on his own.
Relationships: Cassandra/Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled), Eventual Cassunzel
Comments: 16
Kudos: 131





	1. The Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra chases a thief and gets knocked out with a frying pan.

The forest whizzed past Cassandra as the chase continued. She had her sights set on the thief running away from her and the guards— that stupid Flynn Rider, the one who just stole the lost princess’s crown. The Stabbington Brothers had been with him earlier, but the guard had caught them. They were now locked away in the dungeon, or at least they should be, if the guards had been that quick. Either way, Rider was the only one left.

But it wasn’t enough until he was caught. He had bounty in multiple kingdoms, but he was Corona’s prisoner now. She’d almost caught up to him. “We’ve got him now, Fidella,” she told her horse. She looked ahead, gaze intent on Rider again. She noticed him suddenly jump up and swing on a vine— he was coming her way! She jumped off of Fidella right at the moment he would have hit her.  _ You don’t see any of the guards do that, do you, Dad? _ she thought silently.

Cassandra was close on the thief’s heels, and when she was close enough, she tackled him. They both fought for the satchel, and Cassandra almost had it.

Then it got flung to the edge of a branch.

On a cliff.

They glanced at each other, then raced towards the satchel. Rider tried to reach it by going on the underside of the branch. Cassandra attempted to stomp on his hands when she saw them, but she was careful enough to keep her balance. For a split second Rider had the satchel in his hand, but Cassandra snatched it from him just a moment before they heard a small snap. They both paused, and the branch fell, with them still on it. Cassandra heard Fidella’s despaired whinny.

The swordswoman looked down, seeing a jagged rock pointing out from the cliff. Her eyes widened, but she wouldn’t look at Rider as he stared at her in fear. He started to scream, and soon enough she did, too. The branch hit the rock, and it broke apart, leaving Cass and Rider to fall down alone.

It felt like ages until Cass hit the ground, and when she did, she tumbled a bit, but was back on her feet in no time. She looked around— no Flynn Rider in the immediate area. Two fingers in her mouth, she whistled. She smiled when she heard the familiar ‘hoo’ and saw Owl flying down to her. He rested on her arm. “Go and search for Flynn Rider. He fell down here, so you should find him nearby.” Owl flew off again, leaving Cass alone with the satchel. Her next job was to find Flynn Rider if Owl couldn’t and get back to Corona with the crown  _ and _ a very, very wanted thief. She felt a small prickle of satisfaction. She was the closest anyone had gotten to capturing him in a long while and she had retrieved the stolen item. Her dad would  _ have _ to give her a job in the guard now!

For now she had to observe her surroundings. It looked to be just a normal forest, but who knew what could be hiding in the undergrowth? She kept her hand on the dagger at her belt, just in case. She had to be on the lookout for Rider, anyway. Better safe than sorry.

She wasn’t sure how long she stayed in that area when Owl flew back to her. He landed on her arm again. “Nothing?” Cass asked. The bird shook his head. Cass sighed, then let Owl go. He fluttered away, and she groaned.

“Alright, Rider, you win!” she shouted to anyone who would hear. “Come out now and you can tell me all about your sweet vic—  _ oof!” _ She’d leaned against a bunch of green vines, hoping to look casual. She didn’t expect to fall into a clearing with a huge tower, though. She caught herself before she fell onto her back and looked at the tower again. It was sort of beautiful, in a way. The green moss covering it, its purple roof, the waterfall in the background…

She shook her head. Now was not the time to get distracted by pretty sights! She soon came to the conclusion that Rider must have found this place as well. Hidden away, out of sight, even Owl’s sight. She’d better go check. And even if he wasn’t there, she had nothing to lose.

She started to walk towards the tower, and it got bigger and bigger each step. She stared up in awe when she finally reached it. It was a big tower. At least thirty-five to forty feet tall, she guessed. She was starting to become unsure of whether she should do this or not.  _ You can’t give up, _ she told herself.  _ Then you’d just be even more of a disappointment. This is your chance to be part of the guard. Don’t _ ever _ give up. _ It was either now or never. Cassandra took a deep breath, and made her choice.

Using just her hand and dagger, she began hoisting herself up. It was hard work, and she was nearly out of breath by the time she finally made it up. Climbing in through the window, she checked her dagger. It had some marks of wear, and was bent slightly. She’d have to fix it up or get a new one when she returned back home. She slid the dagger into her belt and made sure she still had the satchel. She opened it up and looked inside— the crown was still there. Good. She breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, she felt something hard hit her head, and the world went black.

Rapunzel let out a squeak as the mysterious woman fell to the floor. Was she one of the ruffians, or thugs, or cannibals Mother had warned her about? Did she carry the plague?

The woman didn’t move. Rapunzel relaxed a bit, and instead stared curiously at her. Suddenly her eyes shot open and she let out small “Huh?”

Rapunzel smacked her with the pan again.

Looking at her now, there was something familiar about her. Something familiar in her curly black hair and green eyes… but she couldn’t quite place it.

She lifted the woman up, and got to work at stuffing her inside her closet.


	2. The Outside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel steps outside for the first time in her life.

Cassandra woke up to the feeling of something wet being stuck in her ear. She opened her eyes and let out a gasp, her head jerking up quickly. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was… the tower, right? She tried to move, but couldn’t. It seemed she was tied to the chair, but when she looked at her ropes, they weren’t ropes.

“What the— hair…?” Her arms were tied to the armrests, so she couldn’t use her sword to cut it and escape. Instead she tried pulling at it; probably useless, but she had no other options. She only did this for a few moments before she paused, hearing someone speak.

“Struggling— struggling is useless.”

She tried to look into the darkness to try to get a peek of the girl who just spoke. She saw a small outline and squinted. Up in the rafters the girl was holding a frying pan? The hair seemed to also be coming from her— the abnormally long, beautiful golden hair… there was something familiar about it, but it was too dark to be sure. She jumped down into a dark corner that Cassandra was just about unable to see. “I know why you’re here,” she announced. “And… I’m  _ not _ afraid of you.”

Cassandra pointed her head as far as it could go and squinted harder. The girl stepped out of the shadows.

Cassandra gasped. That purple dress, those green eyes. “Princess Rapunzel…?” she muttered. It was a longshot, sure, but she was pretty sure she’d seen the mosaic enough times to recognize the person standing in front of her.

The girl’s eyes went wide, and she pointed the frying pan just inches away from Cass’s nose. “Who are you and how do you know my name? And what do you mean,  _ princess _ ?”

Of course. Of course, of course, of course! Of course a princess that’s been missing for all eighteen years of her life wouldn’t know that she’s a princess. That was Basic Kidnapping 101. But Cass couldn’t just tell her now, because well, that would seem totally crazy, right? She’d have to find another way to get Rapunzel home. Imagine, bringing back both the missing princess, Flynn Rider if she was lucky,  _ and _ the tiara? That would be—

Wait.

“The satchel!” she suddenly exclaimed. “Where’s the satchel?” she asked as she searched herself and the chair. “I’ve hidden it,” Rapunzel said, crossing her arms in smug satisfaction. “Somewhere you’ll never find it.”

Cass looked around the area surrounding them, noticing a quite out of place pot. “It’s in that pot, isn’t it?”

Suddenly, a whack to the head.

She felt the wet thing in her ear again, and rubbed it with her shoulder. She glared at the chameleon. “You’re lucky I don’t have my owl here.”

“ _ Now _ it’s hidden where you’ll never find it.” Rapunzel started circling the woman in the chair, the pan held threateningly towards her. “So, what do you want with my hair? To cut it?”

“No—”

“To sell it?”

“Listen, I don’t want your hair! I want y— I mean, I want that satchel back!”

Rapunzel paused. She looked at Cass curiously. “Wait, you  _ don’t _ want my hair?”

“Why in all the Seven Kingdoms would I want your hair? Look, I was chasing someone, got the satchel back, thought he was here so I climbed the tower, and that’s it. End of story.” Cass sighed. She looked up at Rapunzel with a desperate plea in her eyes. “Please, I need that satchel. It has something very,  _ very _ important in it. Pretty please?” she asked. She absolutely loathed resorting to something like this, but it was what she had to do. She couldn’t attack as she was tied up, and this was the  _ princess of Corona _ . She couldn’t attack her even if she was free. “With a cherry on top?” she added. Rapunzel didn’t seem to notice the last thing she said, and replied with, “You’re telling the truth?”

“Yes!”

“Hm.” Her chameleon appeared from behind her back and moved to the edge of the frying pan to stare at Cassandra.

Cassandra stared back.

Rapunzel pulled away, and started whispering to her chameleon. Cass didn’t struggle in her chair, only tried to listen to her conversation. She couldn’t pick up anything. Rapunzel sighed, turning to Cass. “Okay, uh… ma’am—”

“Cassandra.”

“— _ Cassandra _ . I’m prepared to offer you a deal.” Cass looked on curiously as Rapunzel pulled her hair. “Look this way!” the princess demanded, spinning the chair. Cass fell on her face but didn’t have anything to brace herself with. Rapunzel had climbed up to the top of an altar and Cass turned her head as far as she could to see. She pulled back the red curtain, revealing a large painting of a blonde girl looking up at lights in the night sky. “Do you know what these are?”

“You mean the lanterns they release for the princess?”

Rapunzel smiled, looking up at her painting. “Lanterns… I knew they weren’t stars!” She shook her head slightly, and pointed the pan at Cass again. “Well, tomorrow evening, they will light the night sky with these  _ lanterns _ ,” she explained, as if Cass didn’t know already, “and you will act as my guide, take me to these lanterns and return me home safely. Then, and only then, will I return your satchel to you. That is my deal.”

Cass almost smiled. That, actually, was a very good deal. If she agreed, then she could return the lost princess to her kingdom, and return the tiara as well. She flopped the chair to the side, which made it slightly more bearable to sit there, and nodded. “Sure, sure. That’s a good deal, yes, I’ll take you home. You’ll be safe and sound with your family soon.” This was true, she thought. She would be safe home soon.

“Really?” Rapunzel beamed. “Oh, thank you so much!”

“Sure. Just as soon as you untie me.”

The way down was even tougher than the way up. At least when Cass was finally nearer the bottom she could jump safely down. She looked up at Rapunzel, who was standing at the edge of the window, waiting to jump down. She took what seemed to be a deep breath, held on tight to her hair, and used it to jump down. Cass was still only halfway.

Rapunzel finally let go of her hair, setting her feet on the ground. The grass crept in between her toes. She started laughing. This felt so great! She rolled around in the dirt, jumping and spinning. Before long, she heard herself singing. Cassandra had jumped down and was watching. Rapunzel could swear she saw an eye roll.

“I can’t believe I did this!” she exclaimed. She was jumping up and down in excitement. “...I can’t believe I did this.” Mother would be so mad at her if she found out, but it was so exciting! “I can’t believe I did this!” She brought her hands to her chest, suddenly nervous. “Mother would be so furious,” she realized.

She made her way to a big pond and sat herself on a rock. She picked up a flower from one of the lily pads. It was beautiful. “Well, it’s okay! I mean, what she doesn’t know won’t kill her, right?”

She found a cave, and started to explore, Cassandra following impatiently behind. It was very cold and drafty inside. She felt overcome with a sudden feeling of guilt. She sat down and pulled her legs up to herself. “This would kill her.”

“THIS IS SO FUN!” she shouted as she ran through the forest, kicking up a pile of leaves into Cassandra’s face.

She leaned her head against a tree. “I am a horrible person. I’m going back.”

“I AM NEVER GOING BACK!” She did a cartwheel. She hadn’t even known she could do that! She rolled down the hill, wrapped up in her hair.

“I am a despicable human being,” she cried into the grass.

“Woohoo! Best. Day. Ever!” The world was spinning as she spun herself around the tree.

She sat down on the grass, sobbing into her hands. Cassandra walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Come on, Rapunzel, we need to get going. You won’t see the lanterns by crying.”

Rapunzel wiped her tears, and looked up at the woman. “Sorry, I know… It’s just, my mother would be absolutely heartbroken if she found out I left. She sang a whole song about all the dangers of the world. Ruffians, thugs, poison ivy, quicksand, cannibals, snakes, the plague, large bugs and men with pointy teeth!” She felt very scared now that she’d thought of all these things again.

Cassandra sighed. “Look, Rapunzel, those are the least of your worries. Chances are you’ll never encounter most of those things. The others you don’t have to worry about. I’m well acquainted with the sword. If you’re so worried, do you know how long she’ll be gone?”

“Three days. She’s collecting ingredients for hazelnut soup and then getting me new paints.” Cassandra smiled a bit, though it didn’t seem quite genuine.

“See? It won’t take that long for you to see the lanterns. She won’t even know you were gone!” Her voice was a bit higher pitched than normal. Was she trying to comfort Rapunzel? “Yeah. She won’t have to know. Now let’s get going.”

They started to set off. The problem was, Cassandra didn’t have any idea herself where they were going. She hadn’t taken any of her maps with her, and even if she had, there were no landmarks that she could find besides the tower, which she hadn’t even known about. However, she couldn’t look like she wasn’t sure, either— so she decided to go in one direction. They travelled for a few hours, but still couldn’t find anything. Finally, she whistled, calling for Owl. He flew down not long after, landing on her shoulder. “Are there any towns or landmarks nearby?” she asked.

He did a few tapping motions with his claws, and she nodded. “Old Corona is just an hour or so away? Okay. Thanks.” She sent him off. This wasn’t exactly amazing. Old Corona was just at the edge of the kingdom, and beyond the wall was outside land. They would have to stop there for the night, she guessed. Good thing the capital island was just a few hours’ walk on foot. She looked at Rapunzel, who was staring at her and smiling with wide eyes. “You have an owl? What’s his name?”

Cass looked at her. “Owl,” she simply stated, before changing the subject. “There’s a village not far from here. We can rest there once it’s dark and then get moving in the morning. The lantern show is just a few miles away.”

Rapunzel nodded. She looked back at the way they had come and sighed. They continued walking.

——————————————————————————————— 

Gothel looked around the forest. She would find some mint for the soup, then go buy some paints for Rapunzel.  _ I hope that miserable little girl appreciates this. _ She wished she was able to just take all of her hair for herself and leave Rapunzel, but she couldn’t. At least she was better than Cassandra ever was, that lousy little pest. Rapunzel was her Flower, so it was easier to cope. Cassandra was just a lazy girl who never could be as beautiful as her mother. Privately she wondered where she was now; it had been a good eighteen years since that night, and she would be an adult by now. Probably taken in by the guards or something, she really didn’t care. Though she was a bit upset she couldn’t have her cottage anymore— the walk from the tower was much longer— but oh well, she had her beauty and her Flower and that was all that mattered. She was about to grab the blue mint when she heard something.

Gothel started to follow the noise, which sounded like a neigh, and finally a horse came into view. Her coat was brown and she had a distinct sun symbol on her saddle. “A palace horse...? Where’s your rider?” The horse was standing at a pathway beside a cliff. Gothel’s eyes widened. “Rapunzel…” They weren’t far from the tower. “Rapunzel!” She dashed off, pushing away the vines covering the entrance to the clearing. As fast as she could, she ran to the tower, a nervous smile on her face as she looked up. “Rapunzel! Let down your hair!” she called, but no answer came. “Rapunzel?!” Panicking, she went to the side of the tower. She pulled away the rocks blocking the basement entrance.

She ran up the stairs, finally reaching the top. She pushed away the fake floor, immediately getting up to her feet. She looked to Rapunzel’s room balcony— she pushed away the curtain, threw off her blanket, but there was no one. She looked in the closet, pulled down the window curtains, but there was nothing. No one. She backed away from the window, staring into its light. She looked away, holding her head in her hands. Rapunzel was gone. The Flower was gone. The Sundrop was gone.

Something glinted in the stairs. She turned her head to investigate, walking closer. She lifted a stair, and it came off, revealing a satchel. SHe grabbed it, opening it and taking whatever was inside. It was a crown.

Rapunzel’s crown.

She threw it on the floor, flinching away as if scared of it. She looked inside the satchel again. There was something else in there, a sheet of paper. She unfolded it, revealing a picture of a man with a funny looking nose. A wanted poster for Flynn Rider. She’d seen his posters out and about, and they seemed to have a different nose each time. Now she knew that this was the man who had stolen Rapunzel. At the same time, she didn’t feel completely right about it— but who else could it be? She looked to a drawer, opened it up and took out a dagger.

He would pay for taking her Flower.


	3. The Wizard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel and Cassandra arrive at Old Corona.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for late chapter! I've been running out of motivation lately with this whole thing, and online schoolwork still exists. I keep procrastinating on both it and writing this. I've also been binge-playing Hollow Knight a lot. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy!

The trek to Old Corona was short but certainly felt long. Rapunzel kept stopping along the way to marvel at everything, but all Cass wanted to do was to keep going.

The princess couldn’t stop smiling. She still couldn’t believe she was outside. She wasn’t allowed outside. But why? It was so cool! Nobody had attacked her. Had Mother been lying?

She got rid of the thought. Mother wouldn’t lie. She just wanted to keep her safe. She probably had very good reasons for keeping Rapunzel inside the tower for so long. She’d sung a whole song about those reasons. Even if they weren’t affecting her now, who was to say they wouldn’t in the future?

Oh well. She had Cassandra with her, and she would protect her. For now she could admire the beauty of the outside world. She stopped at each new flower and tree. She got extra excited when she spotted a clump of familiar blue flowers. “That’s mint!” she exclaimed, pointing. Cassandra took one glance, sighed, and looked away again. “Mother uses it to make the soup taste extra nice,” she explained. Cassandra rolled her eyes. She knew what mint was already.

Rapunzel reached for the mint, picking it out of the ground. “She might like it if I brought some to her,” she muttered.

Cassandra walked towards Rapunzel and snatched the mint away. “You won’t need this.” She threw them back onto the ground. “It won’t stay fresh until the time you get back anyway. Now come on, we need to get to the village before the moon rises.” She turned to walk away.

Rapunzel crossed her arms, pouting. She didn’t see how it was too important. The village couldn’t be that far away now, could it? Surely she could spare some more time having fun? She looked at the mint flowers again, thinking. She glanced at Pascal, a mischievous grin on her face. The chameleon looked back. “You know what I’m going to do, don’t you, Pascal?”

Cassandra continued on, slashing her sword at any vines or other plants in their way. She kept going, stopping when she realized she wasn’t being followed. She turned, but Rapunzel wasn’t anywhere to be found. For a split second she panicked. She couldn’t lose her now! She took deep breaths to calm herself down. She was probably fine, just distracted. “Rapunzel!” she called. “Come on, Rapunzel, _please_!” No answer. “Pretty please with a cherry on top?” she tried.

She waited. And waited.

There was a rustle in the bushes.

She pointed her sword in front of her, keeping watch, waiting for whoever or whatever it was to come out. Silence. Then she felt something placed on her head, and heard a happy laugh.

“I got you!” It was just Rapunzel. She was giggling, finding it hard to keep a straight face. Cass just looked at her, unamused. The princess was wearing a crown of blue flowers on her head. Cass suddenly became aware of the strong smell of mint, and pulled the thing off her head. It was another mint flower crown. She was confused. Why had Rapunzel given her this? She didn’t see the point. The girl was looking at her expectantly. So was the chameleon.

“Well? What do you think?”

Cassandra considered the question for a moment. “I think…,” she tried to think of something to say. “...it’s completely pointless.”

Rapunzel nervously chuckled. “Oh, Cassandra. I know you don’t think that! How about… these?” She pulled out two smaller rings of the flowers, just big enough to fit on a wrist.

“What?”

“Friendship bracelets!” she exclaimed, her eyes bright. “You know, because we’re friends now, right?” She stuck one on her own wrist, then reached out to put one on Cassandra’s.

“Friends?” the woman repeated. She sounded unbelieving.

“ _Best_ friends!”

Cassandra shook her head. “I don’t think so,” she said, but Rapunzel noticed she didn’t take off the bracelet.

The sun was close to sinking in the west when Rapunzel and Cassandra finally arrived at Old Corona. Nobody was outside as it was so late. Cassandra was about to head towards the big house at the edge, but stopped when she realized Rapunzel wasn’t following. Again. She turned, an eyebrow raised. At least this time she hadn’t disappeared. “Are you coming?”

Rapunzel shook her head, looking at Cass. “Sorry, it’s just… I’ve never seen any other buildings before. It’s always just been my tower.” She was staring in awe at the houses before her— it wasn’t really a very big village, but it was big to Rapunzel. “There must be so many people here!”

Cass rolled her eyes. “Sure. Just come on, we need to get going. We don’t have time to sit around marvelling at everything.” Rapunzel nodded absently, following her slowly. Cass grunted. Could she go any slower? She sped up, heading to the house again. “This way. I believe this is the home of the village leader, and a wizard named Varian supposedly lives here, so they’re probably the same person.”

That seemed to snap Rapunzel, who was admiring some flowers, back down to Earth. “He’s a wizard? Do you think he has one of those pointy hats, like in the stories?”

Cass shook her head. “ _No,_ I _don’t_ think so, Rapunzel. But you’d best be on your guard. Some say he’s dangerous.” At that, Rapunzel lifted her frying pan. “I’m ready to pan anyone who plans to hurt us!” Her chameleon palmed his fist into his hand, clearly meaning to be threatening. Cass couldn’t see how he would even attempt to hurt anyone, though. She started to head off again but was stopped once more.

“Who’s this?” Rapunzel asked. Cass turned to look at what she was pointing at— one of Flynn Rider’s wanted posters. This time his nose kind of looked like a cactus. Cass wondered if the reason he was never caught was because people never knew what his nose looked like. That would be super dumb. “The most annoying person on the planet, that’s who,” Cass replied.

“I’m sure he’s not _that_ bad. Maybe we might meet him someday!”

“He’s a thief, and by extension, a ruffian. You don’t want to meet him.” Rapunzel looked scared for a second, but nodded, swiftly hardening her expression. She started following Cass more quickly now. Her hands held even tighter onto her pan.

The sky was turning scarlet red as they knocked on the door. For a while, there was silence. Then a big boom. They could hear footsteps, and the door started to open. It was very, very, dramatically slow. Then, finally, a man dressed in a black coat and a black mask, making his eyes appear to glow. Some smoke drifted off of him, and Cass could swear she saw some from the next room over. “Who are you?” The man asked, his voice deep and booming. Cass straightened herself, arm ready to grab her sword if she needed it.

“My name is Cassandra. We’re looking for Varian. The wizard?”

 _“Wizard?!”_ the man exclaimed. He pulled his mask off, revealing his face— a sight that Cassandra definitely was not expecting.

She had expected, maybe, a big strong man with some scars? A long beard? But what she got was a youthful face with freckles, rosy cheeks and big hair. It was a bit all over the place as if there was an accident, though it was clear he’d tried to straighten it out. There was a strange teal streak on his bangs.

“I’m no wizard,” he said. “I’m an _alchemist_. Was the village spreading rumors again? Really, people hate what they don’t understand.” He opened the door a bit wider, gesturing for the ladies to come in. They promptly did so. Rapunzel looked around in awe, but Cass just stood inside, eyes on Varian. He closed the door when they were in, and smiled at them, taking off his coat. He was wearing an apron, Cass noted. Hopefully he didn’t have any weapons hidden in there.

“I’m Varian! As you can see, I am a man of science. Specifically alchemy.”

“So, Varian, what’s the deal with all that smoke?” Cass asked, pointing into the next room. He glanced over, then had a look on his face that seemed like he just remembered something.

“Oh! That! Haha, yeah, that was just a little explosion, no big deal.” Cassandra’s eyes widened. Explosions didn’t seem like no big deal.

He walked into the next room, gesturing for the other two to follow. Rapunzel happily did, though Cassandra kept a close eye on the boy. She couldn’t have herself or the princess dead before they even got to the island.

“See, I was trying to make something really special for the lantern show tomorrow night,” he explained, pointing to a desk. It was a bit charred and split in the middle. There was some wiring with torn-up rice paper at the edges. “It’s going to shine brighter, last longer and be bigger than all the others! Or, at least, it was going to be… but I got close! I’ll bet I could make it by tomorrow. My dad will be so surprised!’

“You’re going to see the lanterns too?” Rapunzel asked.

“Well, yeah, it’s pretty much mandatory. I mean, you don’t _have_ to do it, but I guess it’s sort of disrespectful to not honor the missing princess. And it’s fun making them!” Varian replied. Cass nearly panicked as he mentioned the missing princess, but tried to remain calm. It was going to be fine, Rapunzel wouldn’t figure it out until she needed to. She didn’t have to have any awkward conversations yet. There was really no reason for her to suspect she’s a princess, right?

Rapunzel smiled. “That’s where we’re going! It’s always been my dream to see them. They always appear on my birthday.”

“Funny, that’s the princess’s birthday, too… oh! What’s your name, by the way? I don’t think I caught it.”

“Rapunzel!” the blondie answered. The young alchemist nodded, then stiffened. “Wait—” He’d figured it out.

Cass grabbed his arm, smiling nervously at Rapunzel. “Sorry, Varian, but I have to talk to you in private. Right now. No one else. Okay? Okay.” Before he could protest, he was whisked away, back into the previous room. Cass carefully closed the door. She couldn’t risk Rapunzel hearing them.

Varian stared at her, struggling to find words. “Th-that’s—”

“ _Yes_ , it’s the missing princess! Please don’t say anything to her. I can’t have her figuring it out yet. I just found her and I need to take her to her parents without her knowing because after the lanterns she wants to go back home to her kidnapper so I just need to pretend you don’t know anything _please_!”

Varian didn’t reply for a bit, trying to process all this. Finally, he opened his mouth, attempting a smile. “Don’t worry,” he reassured her. “You can count on me, Cassandra.”

Cass let go of his arm, sighing in relief. “Thank you.” She went to open the door again. “Okay, Rapunzel! We’re done!” she called. Rapunzel smiled.

“What were you two talking about?”

“Oh, you know,” Cass answered. “Stuff.”

Varian followed after Cassandra. “So, what do you two need here, anyway?” he asked. “Is it a science-related problem? I could help you with that!”

Cass had nearly forgotten what they were here for. “We need somewhere to stay for the night. You know, so Rapunzel can get back home, safe and sound?” She looked at him meaningfully. Varian paused.

“Oh,” he muttered. “W-well, you’d kinda have to ask my dad… I’m not really in charge of these things, ahah. Uh, what time is it?”

“Nearly around half past eight.”

“Um… I don’t know if my dad will- will be awake at this time… I don’t know if he even knows I’m up. He stays in during the days leading up to Rap— the princess’s birthday. And I usually stay awake to work on alchemy, so…” he trailed off.

Cass sighed. Why did she think it was even worth coming here? There was no way a _kid_ , especially one that was barely a teenager, could help them. “We can just camp outside then. Come on, Rapunzel.”

“Wait!” Varian called. He looked dejected that he wasn’t able to help them. “M-maybe I could ask my dad anyway? H-he probably wouldn’t mind, really. Or I could keep you a secret,” he offered. Cass shook her head. She wasn’t sure if she wanted his dad to find them; he’d probably connect the dots about Rapunzel quicker than his son, and _that_ would be way more awkward.

“It’s fine, kid.”

“How about— when you wake up, I can give you some of the food from our harvest? It’s summer, so there's plenty. And you would probably be pretty hungry, right?”

Cass considered this. It would do no harm, and he was right. They didn’t have any other food stored, and though they could probably find some on their travel, it would be easier to just accept the offer. “Alright,” she agreed. “We’ll come get you when we wake up.”

Varian smiled. At least he was able to help a bit, even if it wasn’t exactly what they had been looking for. He waved them off. He looked about to head back in, but Cass turned before he could.

“Also, how old are you?”

He blinked. “I’m thirteen. And a half,” he added.

“Get some sleep. It’s not healthy for kids your age to stay up so much.” She turned to go, following Rapunzel. She heard the quiet closing of the door as they headed off into the night.

_That boy was nice,_ Rapunzel thought. The seventeen-year-old— nearly eighteen-year-old— followed happily as Cassandra began to lead again. Eventually the woman had found a safe place to rest that wasn’t too far from Old Corona.

That had been a near magical experience. The moon was almost halfway up in the sky. She’d never seen anything like that village, or Varian’s things. She’d noticed the many knick-knacks and inventions around the house when he and Cassandra had gone to have their private chat. It was so amazing. She could hardly believe such things existed. She did wonder what they had talked about, and what this ‘missing princess’ thing was all about. She faintly remembered Cassandra calling her a princess when they first met, though she’d quickly brushed it off. She had to have been mistaken? There was no way that Rapunzel was a princess. Gothel was her mother, not any king or queen. Still, she couldn’t help but feel unsure about all of it.

Oh well. Probably nothing. Cassandra seemed to have gotten everything ready. She was sitting on the ground, looking at Rapunzel. Rapunzel laid down next to her. Cassandra had flattened the ground, she noted. She put her hair over herself like a blanket, a bit confused when Cassandra didn’t lay down either. She seemed to notice that, and said, “I’m taking watch, so no one sneaks up on us.”

“Didn’t you just tell Varian to get some sleep?”

“That’s different. He’s a kid.”

Rapunzel stared at Cassandra a bit longer, then closed her eyes. Nothing she could do, though she still worried for her friend. Would she be all right? Of course. Cassandra would be fine. She had her sword, didn’t she? And other things?

Finally, Rapunzel let sleep claim her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Varian is best boy  
> Any feedback, as always, is appreciated!


End file.
